Oakwell Sports Advisory group, the London-based specialist corporate service for the sports and media technology sector, has announced the appointment of Colin Graves, CBE (pictured) to its advisory board.
Graves will join up with the advisory company immediately, having completed his five-year tenure as chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) in August 2020, and will be directly involved in the group’s commercial activities with its clients and partners.
In addition to the ECB, Graves has a strong history in cricket, having also served as CEO and chairman of Yorkshire County Cricket Club, where he is credited with having overseen the development of Headingly Stadium into a world-class cricket venue, and as a board director of the International Cricket Council.
At the ECB, Graves was responsible for the reforms which paved the way for the introduction of The Hundred, the game’s new short-form competition which will launch in 2021.
Graves said: “I am delighted to join Oakwell at a critical time for the business of international sport. Sport, globally, will require much assistance – both structural and financial – in the next two to three years, and Oakwell’s skill set and global outlook is ideally positioned to add significant value.
“Globally, the relationship between sport and private capital needs nurturing and optimising. Better commercial business models are required, as is more responsive governance. Whilst cricket has always been my passion, I look forward to sharing my sports and business experience for the benefit of Oakwell, and the wider ecosystem of leagues, investors, clubs, rights holders, and companies in all sports, globally.”
Chairman of Oakwell’s advisory board, Andrew Croker, said: “We are very pleased to welcome Colin to Oakwell. His experience in sport and business needs little introduction and he is an outstanding addition to the team. His appointment reflects our global growth ambitions and our goal to be the go-to advisor in solving sport’s commercial challenges.”
John Stephenson
john@cricketinvestor.co.uk
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